RUNS flowed and wickets tumbled on the first day of Durham’s final match of the season, with Mark Stoneman emerging as the only batsman able to counter the new ball.

Unfortunately, as when he made 50 in the low-scoring clash with Sussex at Arundel, he wasn’t able to counter Monty Panesar.

After batting for half his innings with a runner, the lefthanded opener edged the leftarm spinner to slip to depart for 52 as Durham closed on 131 for six in reply to Sussex’s 211.

Stoneman had made 29 when he needed treatment for cramp and Michael Richardson, who had made a threeball duck, acted as his runner.

It was reminiscent of early April as hats, coats and even rugs protected the healthy gathering who were determined to witness the season’s last rites.

A biting wind confirmed the passing of another summer, such as it was, but the quality of the pitch reflected the fact that the best weather came last week, when Durham weren’t playing.

Paul Collingwood ’s decision to insert Sussex was probably prompted by the 10.30 start rather than any worries about the surface, with which pitch inspector David Hughes professed himself perfectly satisfied.

Gillette and NatWest finals were often ruined by the clatter of wickets after a 10.30 start in September and Sussex slid to 67 for five yesterday before Kirk Wernars and Ben Brown shared a stand of 106.

Brown looked very comfortable and timed the ball superbly in making an unbeaten 76 off 102 balls with 13 fours.

Durham also began fluently and had been scoring at more than four an over when Paul Collingwood joined Stoneman on 65 for four. The captain dropped anchor, knowing he had to see off the Australian Steve Magoffin, a metronomic clone of Andrew Caddick.

Magoffin rested with figures of three for 19 in ten overs and there was little else in the Sussex attack to trouble Durham’s fifth-wicket pair until Panesar came on and took two for four in five overs.

Collingwood had contributed 19 to the stand of 53 when he failed to clear midon, then Stoneman’s exit left Phil Mustard and Scott Borthwick to survive the last few overs.

Brown is the latest in a long list of Sussex wicketkeeperbatsmen to make runs against Durham, including Andrew Hodd, who scored a century at Hove three years ago. He has now joined Yorkshire because he couldn’t oust Brown, and neither could Durham.

They needed a run-out to break the sixth-wicket stand.

Brown had just reached 50 off 59 balls when he drove into the covers and went for a run, only for Wernars to be stranded by Michael Richardson’s diving stop.

He parried the ball to Keaton Jennings, whose throw completed the run-out with the South African allrounder three short of his career- best on 50.

The last four wickets went down for 13 runs, Callum Thorp claiming two of them through edged catches while Borthwick had Magoffin lbw.

Panesar was run out for a duck when called back for a second run to deep mid-wicket.

Borthwick had come on for the 45th over with the overrate reading minus three, not helped by eight no-balls, of which Ben Stokes bowled four. After 6.3 overs from Borthwick the over-rate was down to minus one when the innings ended.

Although the diagonal wind was slightly in their favour, all the seamers struggled at the Finchale End. Graham Onions bowled only four overs there before resting, while Chris Rushworth bowled superbly at the other end to take the first two wickets.

After six overs he made way for Onions, who quickly claimed two wickets before Thorp took the fifth wicket at the troublesome end when he had left-hander Luke Wells caught behind.

Thorp retained his place in an unchanged side as Durham continued to ignore the opportunity to give Mark Wood more experience.

Sussex, on the other hand, drafted in three youngsters, even though they have more to play for than Durham, with second place prizemoney up for grabs.

Neither Murray Goodwin nor Matt Prior was included, while Ed Joyce is with the Ireland squad preparing for the World Twenty20 Championship and Luke Wright is with England.

The team included 21-yearold Matt Machan, a left-handed batsman from Brighton, left-arm swing bowler Lewis Hatchett and 6ft 9in allrounder Will Adkin.

There were five edged catches in the Sussex innings, two of them for Mustard as he equalled the Durham record for first-class appearances, joining Jon Lewis on 146